TOP 20 second tier 80s & 90s Action Stars PART 3

Read PART 1 here
Read PART 2 here
Again, in no particular order...
11. Roddy Piper

When you look at Roddy Piper's life as a tartan draped professional wrestler turned action star, it's hard not to believe that he really was put on this earth to chew bubblegum and kick ass and I hope nobody ever gives him his beloved gum he's spent the last 30 years looking for.
Since playing the mulleted hero in John Carpenter's classic They Live and wrestling the fantastic Keith David for 6 straight minutes, Roddy Piper carved himself out an action film career during the 80s and 90s that included starring opposite such other action legends as Billy Blanks, Sonny Chiba, Don 'The Dragon' Wilson and Robert Davi.

Must see: They Live
Also Suggest: Tough & Deadly
Avoid: The Bad Pack

Check out our commentary for They Live and the commentary that nearly broke us, The Bad Pack

12. Pam Grier

Ok, so, on first glance this looks a little like I'm cheating. Yes, I know, Pam Grier is mainly known for a string of awesome, action packed, grindhouse Blaxploitation classics in the 70s and this is a list about 80s & 90s action stars and I know you probably think I am just trying to crowbar her into this list because, well, she's my first lady of cinema and she once touched my beard but when you look at her career in the 80s and 90s, you might realise, I am still, right on point.
I am going to list some films now and I dare you to say she doesn't belong here:
1988's Above the Law with our favourite, flappy handed, greasy haired legend Steven Seagal
1996's Original Gangstas with other iconic 70s hero and list member Fred Williamson
and
1997's Jackie Brown
When you add to that The Vindicator, Class of 1999, Escape From LA, No Tomorrow and In To Deep not to mention the fact that she's awesome, she was one of the first ladies of action and, yes, she did touch my beard, she completely belongs on this list.
I love me some Pam Grier.

Must see: Above the Law, Jackie Brown, Original Gangstas
Also Suggest: Class of 1999 and Escape from LA

Check out our commentary for Pam Grier's films:
Coffy
Ghosts of Mars
Watch The After Movie Diner's coverage of Pam Grier's appearance at the Lincoln Center:


13. Don 'The Dragon' Wilson

Don 'The Dragon' is an 11 time World Kickboxing Champion turned martial arts movie star best known for the, Roger Corman produced, long running, Bloodfist franchise (ludicrous name considering he's a kick boxer but this is a place that calls a sport predominantly played with the hands and upper body, football so...), Ring of Fire 1 - 3 and Cyber Tracker 1 & 2. He was excessively prolific in the 90s especially, churning out 26 of his 38 credits in that decade alone.
The Bloodfist series is not an ongoing plot, he only plays the same character in the first 2, it's just Corman's gift for name recognition marketing that, despite the change of style and character over the 8 films, they all carry the name Bloodfist and a number. You can normally tell from the subtitle what it really should be called.

Must See: Bloodfist 1-3
Also Suggest: Bloodfist 4 & 5, Ring of Fire 1 & 2

14. Christopher Lambert

Best known as MacCleod from The Highlander films, French American actor Lambert spent a lot of the 90s squinting and looking confused through a series of enjoyable action films (this is due to being near-blind without glasses apparently). After Highlander most people would know Fortress and Mortal Kombat, based on the video game of the same name but he was also in Gunmen, The Road Killers, The Hunted, Mean Guns and Albert Pyun's Adrenaline: Fear the rush.


Must See: Highlander and Fortress
Also Suggest: Gunmen and Mean Guns



15. Gary Busey

Known now for being madder than a box full of pickled March hares glazed in jelly, back in the 80s and 90s Gary Busey tore through the action genre with his wild hair, enormous teeth, gravelly voice and unnerving presence. What's more interesting is that he managed it with one of his feet in the Hollywood mainstream, normally in a secondary role or villain and another of his, no doubt, insane, feet starring in a string of 2nd tier actioners.
Amongst his most well known credits are films like Lethal Weapon, Predator 2, Point Break and Under Siege but you might not know his action man status extends to the B Movie likes of Eye of the Tiger, Bulletproof, Chrome Soldiers, South Beach with Fred Williamson, Breaking Point, Drop Zone with Wesley Snipes, Plato's Run with Jeff Speakman, The Rage with Lorenzo Lamas and No Tomorrow with Gary Daniels and Pam Grier.

Must See: Lethal Weapon, Predator 2, Point Break, Under Siege
Also Suggest: Eye of the Tiger, Chrome Soldiers and Plato's Run

Check out our commentary for Lethal Weapon 1

PART 4!
- The Kick Ass Kid 

TOP 20 second tier 80s & 90s Action Stars PART 2

Read PART 1 here
Again, these are not in any order...
6. Michael Dudikoff 

Most famous for Cannon Films' American Ninja series, model turned action star Michael Dudikoff spent most of the 80s and all of the 90s blowing stuff up and kicking ass in straight-to-video fare. Although none of them were stand out classics of the genre, along with the 5 film strong American Ninja series, there was enough of them for his name to be recognisable to the right set of B-Movie action fans. He often starred alongside Steve James, his co-hort in American Ninja and has studied Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
Has been a name mentioned a lot in conjunction with the Expendables films and he himself expressed a desire, in an interview, to appear in part 3. Sadly, it looks like, that hasn't happened.

Must See: American Ninja and Avenging Force
Also Suggest: The Human Shield and Midnight Ride
Check out our commentary for the following Michael Dudikoff film:
American Ninja

7. Michelle Yeoh 

Ok, so maybe it's pushing it calling her second tier as Michelle Yeoh is, now a superstar when it comes to females in Asian action movies and has been, for western audiences especially, since 2000's Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. However, from the mid 80s onwards she has been a force to be reckoned with. She has been paired with Donnie Yen, Jackie Chan, Chou Yun Fat, and Cynthia Rothrock and she was a kick ass Bond girl in Tomorrow Never Dies (Brosnan's best outting as James Bond, for my money, mainly because of Yeoh's involvement).
She's never studied any martial arts but does a huge amount of her own stunts and has a dance background from which she draws a lot of her moves. No action list, second tier or not, is complete without her on it.

Must See: Yes, Madam!, Supercop, Tomorrow Never Dies and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Also Suggest: Dynamite Fighters, Butterfly and Sword and The Heroic Trio

8. Eric Roberts

One of the most prolific actors working today, Eric Roberts has worked in everything from big budget, A list movies, to shot in a back garden for a few coins and some scraps of beef jerky films. In action films he has been mainly known as a villain, like in The Specialist opposite Stallone but back in the 80s and 90s he made Best of the Best, Best of the Best 2, Hitman's Run and others where he had a rare outing as the good guy.


Must See: Best of the Best, Best of the Best 2, The Nature of the Beast and Runaway Train
Also Suggest: By The Sword, Past Perfect, The Hard Truth and The Specialist 



9. Carl Weathers

While not a prolific action star, Carl Weathers has a few choice roles that make his short resume, very impressive. Starting out in small and sometimes villainous roles in Blaxploitation classics like Bucktown and Friday Foster, he would go on to make his mark in film history playing Apollo Creed in Sylvester Stallone's legendary boxing franchise Rocky. He played the role 4 times between 1976 and 1985 and that lead to a secondary role in Predator alongside other 80s action legend, Arnold Schwarzenegger. After which he got his one, single, starring action role in the brilliant, over the top, Action Jackson. Sadly no sequel or franchise followed and Weathers would find the action film roles dry up but for a moment there he was part of 2 of the coolest action franchises around and had been the lead in his own larger than life, cop, action adventure. Can't beat that really, can you?!

Must See: Rocky 1-4, Predator and Action Jackson 
Check out our commentary for the following Carl Weathers' film:
Action Jackson

10. Rutger Hauer

Although, critically acclaimed, Dutch actor Rutger Hauer has been known for a mad variety of film roles in his time, from the release of Wanted: Dead or Alive in 1986 onwards, he had a 12 year run of being something of an action star.
This was not an unfamiliar world to him as he had started the decade as the main villain in the Stallone and Billy Dee Williams starring action, cop, serial-killer film Nighthawks.
His next role after Wanted: DOA would be that of a blind, samurai sword wielding ex-soldier in the excellent 80s, action adventure romp Blind Fury, where he even got to face off with, none other than, Sho Kosugi!
This would be followed up with the Mad Maxian The Salute of The Jugger, the battle-of-the-sexes-on-the-run adventure Wedlock and then, the best of them all, Split Second in which Hauer turns in a cigar chomping, coffee swigging, wise crack spewing, action machine of a performance, the likes of which Kurt Russell himself would've been proud.
Other roles in things like Beyond Justice, Arctic Blue and Surviving The Game would fill up the rest of the decade.

Must See: Split Second and Blind Fury
Also Suggest: Wedlock, Nighthawks and Wanted: Dead or Alive
Avoid: Beyond Justice 
Check out our podcast coverage of Rutger Hauer on The After Movie Diner here:
http://amdpodcast.blogspot.com/2012/12/episode-63-rutger-hauer-special-were.html

PART 3 
- The Kick Ass Kid